Operational glossary
The terms behind the request.
Short definitions are paired with practical consequences and source context. Statutory terms can vary, so each law page still links to enacted text.
Authorized agent
A person or organization allowed to submit a privacy-rights request for a consumer, subject to proof of authority and identity checks.
02Biometric data
Measurements or templates derived from physical or behavioral characteristics and used, or intended to be used, to identify a person.
03Consumer request
A request to exercise a privacy right such as access, correction, deletion, portability, or opt-out.
04Controller
An entity that determines why and how personal data is processed under many state privacy laws.
05Data broker
A business that collects and sells personal information about people with whom it generally has no direct relationship; exact statutory definitions vary.
06Data minimization
The practice or legal duty of collecting and using only personal data reasonably necessary for a stated purpose.
07Data protection assessment
A documented evaluation of the benefits and risks of processing activities such as targeted advertising, data sales, sensitive-data use, or profiling.
08Deletion request
A request that a controller erase covered personal data, subject to authentication, exceptions, and retention duties.
09Global Privacy Control
A browser or device signal designed to communicate a person's preference to opt out of sale or sharing and certain targeted advertising.
10Identity verification
Reasonable steps used to confirm that a privacy request comes from the person concerned or an authorized representative.
11Inference
A conclusion or prediction about a person derived from other information, such as likely interests, income range, or household attributes.
12Opt-out preference signal
A technical signal that communicates an opt-out choice across websites or services rather than through a separate form on each site.
13People-search site
A service that makes profiles searchable by name, phone, email, or address using public records and other sources.
14Personal data
Information linked or reasonably linkable to an identified or identifiable person, excluding categories a statute defines out of scope.
15Precise geolocation
Location data detailed enough to identify a person's specific movements or position within a legally defined radius.
16Processor
An entity that handles personal data on behalf of and under the instructions of a controller.
17Profiling
Automated processing used to evaluate or predict aspects of a person's behavior, preferences, health, finances, work, location, or reliability.
18Public record
Information made available by a government body under law; public availability does not necessarily remove every privacy obligation.
19Sale of personal data
An exchange of personal data for money or, under some statutes, other valuable consideration; definitions and exceptions differ by jurisdiction.
20Sensitive data
A protected subset that may include precise location, biometric identifiers, health information, racial or ethnic origin, citizenship, and data about children.
21Suppression list
A limited record retained to prevent previously removed information from being republished or redistributed.
22Universal opt-out mechanism
A regulator-recognized technical method that lets a person express an opt-out choice to multiple controllers automatically.